The running back position in fantasy football this season is deeper than most years and after the top picks like Adrian Peterson, Ray Rice, Trent Richardson and Jamaal Charles, there are plenty of names that could put up big numbers, including Le'Veon Bell, Lamar Miller, Ronnie Hillman, Danny Woodhead, Giovani Bernard, Bilal Powell, Ben Tate and Eddie Lacy.
Le'Veon Bell looks like he is the top sleeper running back among fantasy owners and although he is out right now dealing with a foot injury, he still looks like a player with plenty of upside. The Steelers drafted him out of Michigan State to be their starting running back and after getting rid of Rashard Mendenhall in the offseason and cutting Jonathan Dwyer, last year's leading rusher, he is the primary option once he returns and is a solid sleeper draft option, even with him being injured.
For any owners drafting late after Week 1 starts on Thursday, Bell could be a very solid option and while he has been ruled out of the first game against the Titans with Felix Jones and Isaac Redman taking over, he could be back sooner than the team thought after avoiding foot surgery. The team initially thought the foot injury was very serious, but now he likely will be back in practice in the coming weeks and could return soon. Bell's size makes him a scoring threat in the redzone and a nice option for the Steelers to use as a starting running back.
Some other fantasy running back options include Bilal Powell as well as David Wilson, two New York running backs that could end up producing very well this season. Powell was named the starter for the Jets to start the season over Chris Ivory and while he will get about the same amount of carried, Powell could be a solid option as a running back since the Jets will likely be playing a rookie QB and they want to rush the ball more.
Powell had 437 yards last season with four touchdowns and he should be a nice goal line threat as well and he averaged over 50 yards in the six games where he got 10 carries or more, meaning he could be productive with a few more touches per game. Lacy is a sleeper as a rookie and should get a number of touches along with James Starks as the starter since Alex Green was let go. The Packers have been one of the most unbalanced teams in the league over the past few years and they drafted Lacy and Jonathan Franklin to help out and after losing DuJuan Harris to an injury, Lacy should get plenty of looks.
Lamar Miller is the starting running back in Miami after Reggie Bush left for the Detroit Lions and with Daniel Thomas behind him and kind of in the dog house, Miller could be a huge fantasy player this season. The team wants to run the ball well and Miller is considered to be one of the fastest players in the league. Speaking of fast, David Wilson is now in a starting role after Andre Brown broke his leg and he has electric speed that makes him a playmaker. The team will try and run the ball a lot, but Wilson also can be a threat out of the flat in the receiving game and could put up big numbers in PPR leagues.
